Town and Country Supermarket has been an Edison neighborhood fixture for 8 decades

Jonathon Gruenke | Kalamazoo GazetteMike Rupp, owner of Town and Country Supermarket, at 1824 Portage St. in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood, stocks a shelf last month.

KALAMAZOO — Familiarity. Longevity. Convenience. And a meat counter that likens back to a time when the butcher ordered and cut your meat to your specifications and likely knew you by name.

These are some of the draws of shopping at the Town and Country Supermarket on Portage Road and what keeps customers coming back to the independent, neighborhood grocery.

“The biggest thing is longevity in this location,” said Mike Rupp, owner and meat manager of the store he’s owned since 1995.

“We are the oldest existing, still-operating store in the same location on this side of town,” he said. “The store was supported by the paper mills in the 1960’s and 1970’s, it’s been here forever and everyone knows the store. We have a loyal following of people, many who say they’ve been coming since they were a kid. I know most customers by name and many know me by name.”

Rupp has had plenty of time to get to know the customers over the last 14 years.

And John Holmes, who has been the store’s manager since 2004, grew up in the neighborhood.

Perhaps it’s the appeal of personal attention and service in a “take a number” kind of world that is just one of the reasons why the business has stood the test of time, weathering a tough economy and thriving despite its obstacles and the competition of big box, suburban stores.

TOWN AND COUNTRY

The store has been a fixture at the corner of Portage Road and Reed Street since its humble beginnings as an open-air fruit market in the 1930s. In the early 1950s, the market was enclosed and additions were added.

Having been through a few transitions from Town and Country to Harding’s and back again, the store existed as Harding’s from 1996 until 2001, when Rupp and a co-owner changed the store’s brand to Town and Country.

One of the first grocery stores in Kalamazoo to get a full, self-service meat counter in the 1950’s, Town and Country continues to be especially popular for its meat and produce, offering customized service at the meat counter that is the rule and not the exception.

“We don’t get any pre-cut or pre-packaged meat and we do all of the cutting here,” Rupp said. “We have cutters on hand until 5 p.m. for custom cuts and with an advance order, we can have a cut ready any time. … I’d say 40 percent of our business is meat.”

Jonathon Gruenke | Kalamazoo GazetteKaren Sarkar picks up a bundle of lettuce while shopping at Town and Country Supermarket. "I live in the Eastside and come here because they have the best vegetables. It's fresh, beautiful and cheap," Sarkar said.

Rupp got his start in the meat business at age 18 working at the meat counter for a local fruit and meat market in Saginaw while attending college. A transfer in 1991 to Western Michigan University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in food marketing, brought Rupp to Kalamazoo. He spent the next few years working in the grocery business and in 1995 became a co-owner of Town and Country.

Rupp’s experience in the grocery business and at the meat counter seems to have boded well for Town and Country, and Rupp credits many of his previous managers with helping him learn the trade.

“I’ve worked at many grocery stores over the years and gained valuable experience from their well-trained managers,” Rupp said.

One ability he’s acquired along the way is to anticipate customer need, enabling him to “advance buy” much of the meat in bulk when prices are lower. The savings are passed on to the customers.

“I watch the market and pre-book many ‘big draw’ grilling items for Memorial weekend and summer,” he said. “Because of that, I’m able to sell the meat below market pricing.”

The success of the neighborhood grocery is evident in the many expansions the store has undergone since 2001, which include a new meat and dairy department. And some of the biggest changes have taken place this year.

“In March we doubled the size of the produce department and expanded to include fresh, bulk leaf and romaine lettuce and have also added dozens of Hispanic products,” he said.

And renovations were to be complete by now on the store’s frozen food section — doubling its current size. The store has also been outfitted with a new roof, customer service desk, flooring and energy-efficient LED lighting.

“I think the improvements look great and they seem to be getting busier,” said Stacey Moore, a shopper from Kalamazoo. “It’s convenient because my kids go to school across the street and I like to buy snacks here and they are reasonably priced.”

While some may consider parts of the Edison neighborhood and Washington Square area as a rough part of town, Rupp said his store has a good relationship with the community.

“The community needs and wants the store to be here and I don’t believe they want to do things to jeopardize that,” said Rupp. “Knowing and respecting this community, and them respecting me, has made Town and Country a safe and friendly place to shop.”